I Know Him So Well
by Agent Henry
Summary: Sometimes the good choices can be the wrong ones. Scorpius and Albus know that better than anyone.


**A/N: New one-shot. :)**

_Wasn't it good? Wasn't he fine?  
Isn't it madness he can't be mine?  
I Know Him So Well, John Barrowman Ft Daniel Boys._

Albus Potter loved the rain.

It was clich , he knew, and people constantly called him on it, but he didn't care; it soothed him, calmed him, and today he needed that. So, he sat there on the window ledge, his head rested on the glass, and watched the rain fall.

But it wasn't working.

It had been a year, a whole bloody year, since he had last seen him and he didn't know what to do anymore. He left. Albus left because he thought the man needed his space, knew he did, and he let him go. Scorpius, his best friend, didn't come after him.

He was falling apart and no one could do anything to help. He missed him, loved him, needed him, and he wasn't here. He couldn't help but think what would have happened had he not left. If he had done things differently, would they still be together?

He can't be mine.

And the rain wasn't helping; Albus should have known it wouldn't.

But he continued to sit and watch and wonder: is he watching too?

xXx

Scorpius Malfoy hated the rain.

It was cold and wet and made him remember Albus. But it had become a comfort during the past year; the droplets of rain against his face blended with his tears perfectly and he needed that; the rain was the only time he could cry freely without the fear of being caught.

They all thought he had forgotten, that he had moved on; his family never approved of his friendship with Albus, more so when it became a relationship. He changed his whole world to be with the youngest Potter boy and his family were just waiting for the day he came home saying it was over. There had been no sadness in their eyes that day.

He shook his head of those memories and sat back to lean against the bench. The rain started to fall heavily, soaking him through, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He had made a decision that morning and planned to stick to it, he just didn't how.

Two days ago, Albus' cousin, Rose, had sent him an owl at the Manor asking to meet him for lunch. He had gone out of curiosity; he wanted to know what she wanted, he wanted to know if she knew about Albus. She was exactly as he remembered, smiling when she saw him, and asked him about his life. Scorpius honestly hadn't known what to say and ignored them all, asking only one question: "How's Al?"

She hesitated, putting a cup of coffee to her lips to stall, and then folded her arms onto the table. Rose lost her smile and looked down at the table. "He's a mess. He misses you." She looked up suddenly. "Do you miss him?"

"Everyday," he whispered, more out of emotion than shame. Any louder and he was afraid he could cry again. "He left me, not the other way around."

"You needed to grow up," she retorted, angry. This was good, anger they could deal with. "He wanted to know your relationship was going somewhere. If you hadn't been so afraid of commitment, he would never have left."

"Thank you for telling me what I already know," he forced himself not to shout. "I really needed to hear that I'm not the only one who blames me."

Rose sighed, all anger gone just hearing his defeated tone. She shook her head slowly, "I don't blame you; you just weren't ready."

"Why am I here?"

"Are you ready for commitment?" she asked. "Do you love him? Can you be with him properly? I need to know that."

Scorpius took in her words slowly, not able to process what she meant. She took it as hesitation, as a no, and stood up. He grabbed her arm. "I do," he answered, nodding. "I love him, I always have, and I can be with him if he'll have me." Rose moved back slowly and Scorpius let go of her arm when she sat down. "He's the only one who truly knows me, knows everything, and I remember everything about him." He started smiling suddenly. "He'd hate it if you killed a spider, you know. He'd have me take them outside, he'd do it himself if he really had to, but he's afraid of them. Al's afraid of spiders."

"I didn't know that," Rose told him.

"He hates coffee," Scorpius continued. "He's not so keen on tea either; he prefers hot chocolate. He would go to that Muggle burger place every day if he could."

"McDonalds."

"Yeah," he nodded. "But not for the burgers, for the fries and the muffins. He'll only eat chocolate ice cream. I miss him." He repeated his earlier question. "Why am I here?"

This time, when he asked, Rose grinned and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, holding it up for him to take. He stared at the words, confused. "He found a new place, where you lived had bad memories so he moved. He thought it would make things better, but it doesn't. He wants you back but he's scared. So I needed to see you to know that you were ready. You need to love him so much you stop fearing for your parents rejection; they won't stop loving you because you love him. They may not like it, but they'll learn to accept it for you. Remember that. I know you can do it. Go to him and make things right."

Rose stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just know that James knows what I've done today and has given me a message: if you hurt Al again, you'll be choosing which box you want to be buried in."

Scorpius made an audible gulp and nodded quickly. "That's very considerate of him. Tell him I have no intention of hurting him again."

Scorpius shook his head slowly, remembering. James didn't scare him unless someone hurt Albus; he protected him as any big brother would. He tightened his hand around the paper; not wanting to look at the address for fear the rain would wash it away. He knew the address by heart now, but wanted to keep it in case he didn't go. At least then he would always know where the man was.

He looked across the street to the apartment building, to Albus' building, and wondered if Albus had seen him yet. Obviously not, he thought, Albus would have come outside if he had. Wouldn't he?

Taking a deep breath and hoping for every ounce of courage a Slytherin could have, Scorpius stood up.

Now or never.

xXx The rain did nothing to help and the quiet was slowly making Albus insane. He was so frustrated, it took all of his restraint to not scream. He threw things instead; cushions, a lone shoe, a lamp. "This never would have happened if it weren't for them!" he screamed to no one.

He sighed, defeated, and ran a hand through his hair. Now calm, he realized what he had done and took out his wand to fix everything. Albus glanced out the window, "I need to get out of here."

He grabbed his coat and pulled open the door, stopping dead in his tracks so not to walk into him. "Scorpius."

Scorpius opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, trying to think of something to say. "Have you started breaking things yet?" he finally said.

Still confused, Albus answered, almost automatically, "just now." He took in Scorpius' appearance; he was drenched fom the rain. "How did -"

"I know you," Scorpius interrupted. "Very well; you watch the rain, then you pace, then you throw things, then you go for a walk and you sit in the rain. They only happen when you're really angry or really sad; most of the time just watching the rain helps." He paused, his voice almost cracked when he spoke again. "Which am I? Really angry or really sad?"

It was a moment before Albus could speak. "Both. Why are you here?"

"I miss you," he whispered.

"You've had a year." Albus stormed past, suddenly wishing he hadn't come. Every dream he had of Scorpius coming back, Albus had hugged him, kissed him, told him he loved him and never let him go. He never thought he would walk away.

He heard Scorpius chase after him down the stairs. "You moved, you sold our apartment."

"You went there looking for me?" he asked. He didn't bother turning around, he just knew the man's answer.

"No," he muttered.

Albus pushed the door open and stepped out into the rain, Scorpius still trying to catch up. "You've had a year to come back, why now?" He turned suddenly and Scorpius crashed into him, wrapping his arms around Albus to keep from falling. "How did you know where I was?"

Scorpius loosened his grip on his waist, but still held the edges of his coat. "Rose told me."

"You went to Rose?"

He shook his head, "she came to me. She told me you missed me and you loved me and to go to you if I wasn't afraid anymore. I'm not afraid of commitment or my parents, I can be with you properly now. I couldn't then, you were right, that's why I didn't follow you. Maybe I should have anyway."

He wiped Albus' hair back from his eyes, smiling softly. "I am so sorry for hurting you, I never wanted that, and I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you if you let me."

"Maybe it's too late," Albus whispered, challenging him.

"It's never too late," he said immediately. "I know you still love me."

Albus scoffed. "Because Rose said."

"Because I know you so well," Scorpous smirked. He brought his lips to Albus, kissing him before the man could object. Hesitant at first, Albus just stood there, but his need for the blonde he missed won and he kissed back enthusiastically, wrapping his arms around Scorpius' neck to pull him closer.

Scorpius raised a hand to Albus' cheek and ended the kiss. "Told you."

"Shut up."

Scorpius' laugh died as Albus kissed him again.

And the rain stopped.


End file.
